Assessing Classroom Environments and Prioritizing Goals for the Severely Retarded

Abstract

In this methodological study, a strategy for analyzing Balthazar Scales of Adaptive Behavior-II data and using the results in the assessment of classroom environments and in subsequent goal prioritization is described. The Balthazar Scales-II were administered to the female students in eight classrooms for severely retarded adolescents at a state developmental center. A principal components analysis was applied to this baseline data in order to assess the classroom environments and to then prioritize goals derived from the results. In the analysis, three modal classroom types were identified. A method for goal setting based on the correspondence between the modal classroom types and the hierarchy of educational goals in Krathwohl's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives was described.